I am Lev

Lev Rukhin was born into a family of artists and scientists in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father, Evgeny Rukhin, was one of the leading figures in the Russian Nonconformists movement in the 1970s, significant for its struggle for the freedom of self-expressionism. After Evgeny's mysterious death in a fire widely believed to have been started by the KGB, Lev's family (mother and three siblings) were stripped of their citizenship, forcing them to move around the world under a 'stateless' status until finally settling in Texas. Lev now lives with his 13-year-old daughter in Los Angeles and works as a photographer and artist, documenting the folklore of his community and composing large-scale works based on context and narrative.